Ryan boots Medicare heckler

RACINE, Wis.— Rep. Paul Ryan had local police remove a man from his town hall meeting Friday after he kept yelling about how Ryan’s budget plan would impact Medicare.

It was the most dramatic moment yet in Ryan’s weeklong series of town halls, and it happened in one of the most Democratic areas of his district.

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Ryan warned the man once and then asked the cops to get him out. “We’re going to ask you to leave if you’re not going to be a polite person,” Ryan said.

During a week of town hall meetings in his district, Ryan has drawn overflow crowds that are a mix of supporters and opponents. His comments on Medicare were greeted with both cheers and boos all week.

The disruptions at his last town hall in Racine took place after Ryan told the audience that his budget “will change nothing for your Medicare benefits” for people over age 55.

Several people in the crowd responded with boos and shouts of “What about my children,” and the man Ryan kicked out of the forum repeatedly shouted protests such as “because they vote for you.”

The issue of whether the plan would hurt benefits for those over 55 — and whether the changes leave people under 54 without Medicare — has prompted negative feedback at other meetings as well, as protesters in Ryan’s audiences have insisted that younger adults shouldn’t have their benefits changed, either.

Ryan has taken the criticism in stride. He said he was encouraged by the turnout — over 1,000 people attended four town halls on Friday alone — because it proved people were interested and taking part in the debate about how to get the deficit under control.

In more friendly areas of his district, he received several standing ovations, and some people asked him to run for president.

But even in the friendly areas, he got pointed questions about the specifics of his plan. In Burlington, a woman asked Ryan how one year of "premium support" would help her buy coverage for several years.

That idea was wrong, Ryan said — she'd get premium help every year.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:47 p.m. on April 29, 2011.